Of going to school becoming a nightmare and students paying the price of education

Bongoblast

MANY students and pupils will sigh a sign of relief as many schools are closing for holidays. They will have a chance to take a break from hectic schedules that are usually worsened by transport woes they endure on a daily basis.

Their relationship with kondas is not mutual. It's more like a cat and mouse relationship. The nightmare this children go through all for attaining a better education for a better life is uncalled for.

It remains a fact that most of them, especially those who use public transport to and from school, report late for school almost on a daily basis as they are denied access to these speeding coffins. The only sin these students commit, that drives these kondas to shun them is that they pay 150/- while other passengers pay 300/-.

The other problem is that when they finally get to school, in most cases they will be tired because they would have used a lot of energy in pushing and shoving their way into daladalas. These students have no choice but to bulldoze their way into the buses, failure to which they will not make it to school or will be too late to attend lessons.

In fact, going to school has fast become a nightmare and the trend seems to be escalating unabated as they are left at the mercy of touts and bus conductors who treat them as if they were second class citizens.

Dear reader you need to visit the new Posta Bus station in the city centre from around 3pm during school days to witness what I am talking about. The situation is unbearable to say the least as kondas and school children will be wrestling each other.

Boarding buses during this time is a nightmare for many people as there will be a lot of pushing and shoving at daladala doors, where students will be fighting to get into the buses while kondas and touts on the other hand will be pushing them away at the same time trying to smuggle their cash cows into the buses without students sneaking in.

It’s a shame as one will be forgiven to mistake the struggles at the doors to wrestling matches. A lot of students have their uniforms torn while others will come out of the hullabaloo with their white shirts or blouses dirty or having lost one or two buttons.

This other day, I saw the driver of one commuter bus parking the bus before disembarking to help the konda prevent 'wanafunzi' from getting into the bus. Dear reader, you need to witness this for you to come to terms with what I am saying. But, I am sure that if you are not a visitor to this country then you should be aware of what I am talking about.

I have never stopped wondering why the touts and conductors hate uniformed students that much! One wonders whether these guys are agitated by a mere sight of a uniform because it reminds them of what they failed to achieve or what? Or is it mere jealousy because if these kids pass then they will be what these guys have failed to be or is it a mere business consciousness where the touts and kondas consider carrying wanafunzi as running a loss as they pay 150/- to their destinations?

I often witnessed a lot of heated debates on daladalas as some parents register their disapproval over the inhumane treatment school children are exposed to. What pains most is that these debates and concerns quickly vanish into thin air and each and everyone turns to his or her problems without a solution being found. In fact, such debates are now more used to while up time during 'foleni' than genuine concerns in need of urgent attention.

The problem of students being ill-treated by bus crews is not new to us and has been with us for sometime, but it seems as if the pleas to address this problem are falling on deaf ears.

What surprises me is that some parents, when they see school children being ill-treated, they sit and do nothing. I know some don't care because the children in question are not theirs or their relatives; but how will you feel if it is done to your own child? How will it be like if you are to continuously buy uniforms replacing those that are continuously torn during the fiasco with touts?

Don't get me wrong, there are other conductors and touts I have seen who are different from others. These respect school children and they carry them on their buses without any hustles. I am not in a position to give examples or provide some of the names of these good kondas but I promise that next time I will. I just wished if all the kondas were like that then we were not going to have students reporting late for school.

Schools are just closing and very soon will be opening and students have a long way to go before the year ends so the government, responsible authorities and every stakeholder should come up with a permanent solution to this social misnomer. They should devise methods of curbing this problem. I have read many letters and stories in various newspapers on the problem but to my surprise the responsible authorities have remained mum on this problem. Are they waiting for all students to boycott school so that they can act? Are they waiting for a student to be pushed out of a moving daladala and die before they act?

Let everyone sitting on this issue be reminded that going to school should be enjoyable and students must be motivated to wake up everyday, bath and go to school. When going to school becomes a nightmare then there is a problem.

School authorities should not also watch and zip their mouths as if everything is okay while their students get to school late everyday. They should chip in even by providing transport to their students, a move some schools adopted. This goes a long way in helping these students get to school on time.

As wananchi, we have a more important role to play. Let’s reprimand all the kondas and touts who abuse children. It is because of this that many school girls have fallen in love with kondas, drivers or touts so that they get easy access to transport. This is a shame. Our daughters are being ravaged by these touts only because someone is sitting on what he or she is supposed to and paid for.

The time to address the problem is now so that our children do not end up hating going to school or if girls don't end up being impregnated by these merciless touts. What type of future leaders are we raising? Let’s make Bongoland a better place. God bless you.

bongoblast@thisday.co.tz/ 0657651300

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